In a scenario straight out of the U.S. - Soviet Union cold war era, Waukesha Bearings (Pewaukee, Wisconsin, a division of Dover Diversified Corporation) found electronic eavesdropping equipment in its Glasgow, Scotland facility -- hidden in the factory office ceiling.

The Glasgow factory manufactures precision fluid film bearings, and was part of Waukesha's August 2001 acquisition of Federal-Mogul RPB (formerly known as Glacier Rotating Plant Bearings).

Six shop stewards were reportedly implicated in the bugging, all of whom were fired last week for, "gross industrial misconduct."

It was not clear whether the six were involved in competitive industrial espionage or if the incident is related to internal strife at the facility. It was also unclear if the listening devices were in operation even before Waukesha acquired the plant.

Jim Winistorfer, Waukesha's General Manager, was prescient last October when he told the Milwaukee Sales and Marketing Executives, "We have communication and cultural issues to face in Glasgow, Scotland ..." and several other plants.

Waukesha was founded in 1950 and acquired by Dover in 1977. The company manufactures a variety of industrial bearings, including tilting pad thrust and journal bearings, sleeve bearings, housings, and fluid film and magnetic bearings.

Waukesha did not respond to our request for comment.